Survey on heat avoidance behaviors of pedestrians waiting at traffic signals at intersections

The implementation of urban heat-mitigation measures, such as sunshades, mist spraying, cool pavements, street trees, and wall greening, is known to be effective in mitigating the thermal environment in outdoor spaces. However, it is not possible to apply these technologies throughout the entire urban area. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the actual distribution of thermal environment indicators and the usage status of urban spaces by residents when examining priority plans for implementing urban heat-mitigation measures. At this time, people are already implementing avoidance behaviors to escape the heat. Therefore, countermeasures must be implemented with consideration of pedestrian heat avoidance behaviors. This study investigated heat-avoidance behaviors of pedestrians waiting at traffic signals at urban intersections in central Kobe City. The relationship between the shade conditions in signal waiting area during the signal phases and heat avoidance behaviors was analyzed to clarify the characteristics of pedestrian heat avoidance behaviors. When sufficient shade existed in the signal waiting area during the signal phase, most pedestrians avoided direct sun exposure by using the shade. Even when shade coverage was limited, at least 60% of pedestrians avoided direct sun exposure by using shade or umbrellas. Even when shade was almost nonexistent, about 40% of pedestrians avoided direct sun exposure by using umbrellas. A negative correlation was confirmed between the shade use rate and the umbrella usage rate, indicating that pedestrians avoid direct solar exposure using umbrellas when shade is insufficient. Avoidance potential was evaluated by integrating pedestrian heat avoidance behavior characteristics, shade distribution in signal waiting area during the signal phases, and pedestrian flow data from infrared sensors. Based on the evaluation results, intersections with high countermeasure priority were identified, and priority locations for sunshade installation were considered.